@littleoreo2021,
From what I’ve read, if you have been on 125mcg for awhile and still feeling very tired, it might mean your dose needs to be adjusted. If you have not been on that dose for very long, it might mean that your body has not adjusted to the doses yet.
Another thing to consider is when you are taking the dose…. It should be taken on an empty stomach, an hour before you eat and vitamins should not be taken for 4 hours…. Antacids also need to be spaced out from it. You might want to check with pharmacist on the best way to take the medicine so you get the benefits.
Good luck!
@littleoreo2021,
From what I’ve read, if you have been on 125mcg for awhile and still feeling very tired, it might mean your dose needs to be adjusted. If you have not been on that dose for very long, it might mean that your body has not adjusted to the doses yet.
Another thing to consider is when you are taking the dose…. It should be taken on an empty stomach, an hour before you eat and vitamins should not be taken for 4 hours…. Antacids also need to be spaced out from it. You might want to check with pharmacist on the best way to take the medicine so you get the benefits.
Good luck!
@ littleoreo2021, I think it’s at least 6 weeks. One of the things you might want to check is to see what your thyroid numbers were before you had surgery and see if the numbers are being kept in line with the previous levels. I changed endocrinologists because the doctor looked at the cancer diagnosis and the need to keep the TSH number as low as possible and ignored how I was feeling. Being told that I would feel better once my body adjusted did little for me when I was feeling terrible (the terrible sudden bouts with fatigue was one of the issues).
I changed doctors. Your dose might be too high for YOU. My dose is put my blood levels in the normal range but I was dealing with a lot of the negative side effects. My new doctor lowered my dose and is trying to keep my TSH number in the “normal range” (not the lowest possible range), based on previous blood levels.
Prior to surgery/diagnosis, my thyroid worked fine. When I looked at my old blood tests I was surprised to see the number compared to where my old doctor was trying to get my levels too…..big difference! The lower dose seems to have fewer side effects and now we are trying to tweak it with tiny increments (50 mcg 6 x per week and on Sunday I take 62.5 mcg……I take 50 mcg + half of a 25 mcg pill.) I just started this regiment so we will see. My old doctor had me taking a much higher dose but the side effects made me feel terrible.
Depression is one of the side effects so you might want to talk to your doctor about changing your dose. I had asked my previous doctor if we could compare my bloodwork to bloodwork prior to surgery and diagnosis however she did not feel that was useful (I don’t know if the surgery changes things so much that it isn’t useful but figured it might be something to consider).
I was feeling terrible and the doctor just kept increasing my dose so I changed doctors…..being told I would get used to it did little for me when I felt terrible for three days every time I had to take the bigger dosage.
Your doctor might be agreeable to weaning you down a bit to see if the symptoms improve….small increment changes can really make a difference!
Definitely call your doctor and ask!
Good Luck!
@kol, i am on 100mcg. and i have that awful tiredness, all day long. i do keep a check on my sleeping times and even though i wake up just about every hour on the hour, sometimes i might get a 3 hr. sleep period. thing is, i feel like i have just mowed the acre of land and cleaned the whole house. never feel rested. even after i take a nap and sometimes i am surprised if i sleep for 2 hrs. either way, i can only do a few things before i have to rest and then go back and do whatever else is important to do. believe you me, i can't wait for naps and bedtime. its just not fun to feel this sleepy. thank goodness we do not have a lot of visitors. i don't believe my blood was checked before my surgeries. so i am going to look back at my timeline and hopefully get back to this discussion. hugs and prayers for all
@kol, i am on 100mcg. and i have that awful tiredness, all day long. i do keep a check on my sleeping times and even though i wake up just about every hour on the hour, sometimes i might get a 3 hr. sleep period. thing is, i feel like i have just mowed the acre of land and cleaned the whole house. never feel rested. even after i take a nap and sometimes i am surprised if i sleep for 2 hrs. either way, i can only do a few things before i have to rest and then go back and do whatever else is important to do. believe you me, i can't wait for naps and bedtime. its just not fun to feel this sleepy. thank goodness we do not have a lot of visitors. i don't believe my blood was checked before my surgeries. so i am going to look back at my timeline and hopefully get back to this discussion. hugs and prayers for all
@kol, i was given this 100mcg. ever since march 28, 2023, i just thought it did take a long time to get adjusted and then with all the radioactive iodine pills, and then the full body scan afterwards, then the cat scan. and its like please.......no more appts. that is how tired i am. thank you for your reply and oh, also she did (endocrinologist) did send in another rx for some other lio something or another and was too scared to take that due to osteoporosis. i will however tell her how tired i am and thanks again for the help. blessings to you.
Years ago, but well after my thyroidectomy, I was feeling jittery and thought my levothyroxine was too high. So, on my own, I stopped taking it for a few days, with terrible effect! I couldn't sleep, my heart was beating fast, and I felt exhausted. I learned the hard way that low hormone levels can feel like high hormone levels! Good luck to you!
Years ago, but well after my thyroidectomy, I was feeling jittery and thought my levothyroxine was too high. So, on my own, I stopped taking it for a few days, with terrible effect! I couldn't sleep, my heart was beating fast, and I felt exhausted. I learned the hard way that low hormone levels can feel like high hormone levels! Good luck to you!
@kol, i am on 100mcg. and i have that awful tiredness, all day long. i do keep a check on my sleeping times and even though i wake up just about every hour on the hour, sometimes i might get a 3 hr. sleep period. thing is, i feel like i have just mowed the acre of land and cleaned the whole house. never feel rested. even after i take a nap and sometimes i am surprised if i sleep for 2 hrs. either way, i can only do a few things before i have to rest and then go back and do whatever else is important to do. believe you me, i can't wait for naps and bedtime. its just not fun to feel this sleepy. thank goodness we do not have a lot of visitors. i don't believe my blood was checked before my surgeries. so i am going to look back at my timeline and hopefully get back to this discussion. hugs and prayers for all
Did you ever get some answers? I had 1/2 of my thyroid removed 35 years ago and two weeks ago I had some more thyroid tissue removed that had benign nodules. My surgeon increased my levothyroxine from 25mcg to 88mcg, which seems like to much of an increase to me as I read you should increase by 12-25mcg at a time. For the past week I've had terrible fatigue and just don't feel well. I was thinking it's due to the large increase in my levothyroxine but maybe it's because the meds haven't had time to work yet? Just wondered how you were doing and if you had any further info or suggestions. Thanks.
Have faith in yourself & your body's message to you that your prescribed dosage may be too much. Listen to your body. Your doc doesn't live in your body: You do. When my thyroid surgeon 1st removed my thyroid gland 51 years ago, he prescribed too much thyroxine which worsened my already anxiety-prone state, produced tachycardia, & rapid weight loss. When I saw him a month later, he halved the dosage, and my heart rate & blood pressure calmed down. Don't be afraid to speak up and ask questions of your docs. If they don't answer or disrespect you, fire their asses & find docs who listen & partner with you. We women forget: One size of medication does NOT fit all. Meds. must be balanced to restore normal functioning of all systems. Only you can tell your doc whether the dosage works or doesn't work for your height, weight, body type, daily activity & nutrition! Good luck! Be patient, persistent,& passionate about your care.
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@littleoreo2021,
From what I’ve read, if you have been on 125mcg for awhile and still feeling very tired, it might mean your dose needs to be adjusted. If you have not been on that dose for very long, it might mean that your body has not adjusted to the doses yet.
Another thing to consider is when you are taking the dose…. It should be taken on an empty stomach, an hour before you eat and vitamins should not be taken for 4 hours…. Antacids also need to be spaced out from it. You might want to check with pharmacist on the best way to take the medicine so you get the benefits.
Good luck!
Thanks for the reply. Do you know how long it takes for your body to get adjusted to the thyroid medicine? This is depressing.
@ littleoreo2021, I think it’s at least 6 weeks. One of the things you might want to check is to see what your thyroid numbers were before you had surgery and see if the numbers are being kept in line with the previous levels. I changed endocrinologists because the doctor looked at the cancer diagnosis and the need to keep the TSH number as low as possible and ignored how I was feeling. Being told that I would feel better once my body adjusted did little for me when I was feeling terrible (the terrible sudden bouts with fatigue was one of the issues).
I changed doctors. Your dose might be too high for YOU. My dose is put my blood levels in the normal range but I was dealing with a lot of the negative side effects. My new doctor lowered my dose and is trying to keep my TSH number in the “normal range” (not the lowest possible range), based on previous blood levels.
Prior to surgery/diagnosis, my thyroid worked fine. When I looked at my old blood tests I was surprised to see the number compared to where my old doctor was trying to get my levels too…..big difference! The lower dose seems to have fewer side effects and now we are trying to tweak it with tiny increments (50 mcg 6 x per week and on Sunday I take 62.5 mcg……I take 50 mcg + half of a 25 mcg pill.) I just started this regiment so we will see. My old doctor had me taking a much higher dose but the side effects made me feel terrible.
Depression is one of the side effects so you might want to talk to your doctor about changing your dose. I had asked my previous doctor if we could compare my bloodwork to bloodwork prior to surgery and diagnosis however she did not feel that was useful (I don’t know if the surgery changes things so much that it isn’t useful but figured it might be something to consider).
I was feeling terrible and the doctor just kept increasing my dose so I changed doctors…..being told I would get used to it did little for me when I felt terrible for three days every time I had to take the bigger dosage.
Your doctor might be agreeable to weaning you down a bit to see if the symptoms improve….small increment changes can really make a difference!
Definitely call your doctor and ask!
Good Luck!
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2 Reactions@kol, i am on 100mcg. and i have that awful tiredness, all day long. i do keep a check on my sleeping times and even though i wake up just about every hour on the hour, sometimes i might get a 3 hr. sleep period. thing is, i feel like i have just mowed the acre of land and cleaned the whole house. never feel rested. even after i take a nap and sometimes i am surprised if i sleep for 2 hrs. either way, i can only do a few things before i have to rest and then go back and do whatever else is important to do. believe you me, i can't wait for naps and bedtime. its just not fun to feel this sleepy. thank goodness we do not have a lot of visitors. i don't believe my blood was checked before my surgeries. so i am going to look back at my timeline and hopefully get back to this discussion. hugs and prayers for all
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1 ReactionSounds like you need to call your doc. If your medicine was adjusted that might be the problem . Best of luck
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@kol, i was given this 100mcg. ever since march 28, 2023, i just thought it did take a long time to get adjusted and then with all the radioactive iodine pills, and then the full body scan afterwards, then the cat scan. and its like please.......no more appts. that is how tired i am. thank you for your reply and oh, also she did (endocrinologist) did send in another rx for some other lio something or another and was too scared to take that due to osteoporosis. i will however tell her how tired i am and thanks again for the help. blessings to you.
2
Years ago, but well after my thyroidectomy, I was feeling jittery and thought my levothyroxine was too high. So, on my own, I stopped taking it for a few days, with terrible effect! I couldn't sleep, my heart was beating fast, and I felt exhausted. I learned the hard way that low hormone levels can feel like high hormone levels! Good luck to you!
Eat Brazil nuts for thyroid health
Did you ever get some answers? I had 1/2 of my thyroid removed 35 years ago and two weeks ago I had some more thyroid tissue removed that had benign nodules. My surgeon increased my levothyroxine from 25mcg to 88mcg, which seems like to much of an increase to me as I read you should increase by 12-25mcg at a time. For the past week I've had terrible fatigue and just don't feel well. I was thinking it's due to the large increase in my levothyroxine but maybe it's because the meds haven't had time to work yet? Just wondered how you were doing and if you had any further info or suggestions. Thanks.
Have faith in yourself & your body's message to you that your prescribed dosage may be too much. Listen to your body. Your doc doesn't live in your body: You do. When my thyroid surgeon 1st removed my thyroid gland 51 years ago, he prescribed too much thyroxine which worsened my already anxiety-prone state, produced tachycardia, & rapid weight loss. When I saw him a month later, he halved the dosage, and my heart rate & blood pressure calmed down. Don't be afraid to speak up and ask questions of your docs. If they don't answer or disrespect you, fire their asses & find docs who listen & partner with you. We women forget: One size of medication does NOT fit all. Meds. must be balanced to restore normal functioning of all systems. Only you can tell your doc whether the dosage works or doesn't work for your height, weight, body type, daily activity & nutrition! Good luck! Be patient, persistent,& passionate about your care.
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